A microvaporizer, such as an e-cigarette, includes a mouthpiece, a heating element (also called an “atomizer”), a tank, and a battery. The e-cigarette is typically cylindrical. The tank stores liquids that would be vaporized by the atomizer to create vapor for a user, also called an “e-liquid”. The atomizer is typically a heating coil that is put in contact with the e-liquid when vapors are desired. Commercially, the tank is a permanent and refillable part of the microvaporizer. The tank is typically attached to the atomizer on one end, and attached to the body of the vaporizer, including a battery portion on the opposite end. The tank is further attached to the mouthpiece. Some of the commercial tanks also include the heating coil inside a portion of the tank for vaporization of the e-liquid stored in the tank.
The tank includes an outer casing that forms the exterior surface of the tank, and an inner casing that defines a middle air passage in the center of the tank. The e-liquid is stored in the surrounding chamber, which is located in between the outer casing and the inner casing of the tank.
The conventional tank poses several inconveniences to a user. The conventional tank is refilled by adding e-liquid to the surrounding chamber using a dripper or squeeze bottle. It is important that the user only fills the surrounding chamber in the tank, and to avoid adding e-liquid to the middle air passage. If the e-liquid were added to the middle air passage, then the user would likely taste the e-liquid in the mouthpiece. A dripper or squeeze bottle is needed to refill the e-liquid into the surrounding chamber because the opening to the surrounding chamber is very small. The user would need to tilt the tank for a more accurate access to the surrounding chamber when refilling the tank.
Furthermore, if the user would like to use the e-cigarette outside of the home, the user would need to carry an additional bottle of e-liquid with a dripper, or inside a squeeze bottle, as well as the e-cigarette in order to refill the e-cigarette while traveling. It would be difficult for the user to refill if there is no steady light and/or surface for the user to perform the delicate act of refilling the surrounding tank on the go.
An attempt to provide a disposable cartridge has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,910,639, in which the smoking article includes a control body that houses the battery, and a disposable cartridge that is detachably connected to the control body. The cartridge includes a resistive heating element and storage of a product for vaporization. By including a resistive heating element, the cost of the disposable cartridge in the '639 patent may be high due to the complexity of the components in the cartridge during manufacturing. Furthermore, the retail price may also be high because the resistive heating element is costly. A resistive heating element has a longer usage life than the liquid product in the tank. For most instances, the resistive heating element may still be reusable when the liquid needs to be refilled. Thus, it is desirable to provide an improved disposable cartridge that will be easy to use and replace, cheaper to manufacture, and simplified to lower the retail price for the consumers.
The disposable, pre-filled cartridge system will make it tamper proof for user.